'Doctor Who' fans celebrate 50 years of fun and adventure

Back in 1963, the bigwigs at the BBC were skeptical about the concept for a new sci-fi serial, and they had every right to be.

A two-hearted humanoid alien flying through space and time? In a clunky police phone box called the TARDIS? Battling diabolical fiends — Daleks — that look like salt and pepper shakers?

British viewers might have been expected to take one look at this riot of weirdness called “Doctor Who” and immediately shout “ex-ter-min-ate!”

But they didn't. In fact, they ate it up. And now, 50 years later, “Doctor Who” not only lives on, it has achieved a form of global domination. On Saturday, zealous fans — or Whovians — everywhere will gather to commemorate in style the golden goodness of the longest-running, most successful sci-fi TV series in history.

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“It's a time for all of us to geek out together and pour forth our love for the show,” says Holly Link, a devotee from Santa Cruz, who plans to dress up in “Who” attire and, with about a dozen of her pals, watch the show's 50th anniversary special, “Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor.”

The 75-minute special, airing in the United States on BBC America, will be simulcast in more than 75 countries. Additionally in the U.S., it will be screened in 3-D at more than 300 cineplexes. All this week, BBC America has been hyping the anniversary shindig with “Doctor Who”-themed marathons and retrospectives and even a slick new original movie about the show's formative days.

That's a lot of fuss for a cult series that originally was envisioned as a kiddie show, burdened with a paltry budget and first aired on the telly in foggy black and white. In the five decades since, and despite a lengthy hiatus that begin in the '90s, “Doctor Who” has grown up and captured the imaginations of adults as well as younger viewers.

But in a medium where trends fade fast and shows drop like flies, why has it continued to thrive?

“It's a unique, yet very simple idea: A man travels through space and time,” explains “Doctor Who” producer Marcus Wilson during a phone call from London, where he's working on the show's Christmas special. “And yet it is open to infinite possibilities. We can go anywhere, do anything. It's about hope, and adventure and excitement. And we can always stay current and refresh ourselves with different Doctors.”

The latter aspect has been one of the show's greatest strengths. Over the years, 11 actors have played the so-called Time Lord, beginning with grandfatherly William Hartnell. Next in line is Peter Capaldi, who is due to succeed the popular Matt Smith when the latter bows out in the Christmas episode.

Unlike some shows where multiple actors have played the same guy, the Doctor conveniently “regenerates,” or transforms into a different being — a process that allows each actor to put his own spin on the character.

“This enables the show to reinvent itself every few years and advance with the times,” says Campbell resident Ken Patterson, an original member of Legion of Rassilon, a “Doctor Who” fan club founded in 1982 and claiming to be the Bay Area's oldest. “It's always moving, changing and making itself accessible to a new audience.”

Indeed, it's “almost bittersweet” when a Doctor regenerates, says Nicholas Urbonas, a Whovian from Hayward. “You're sad to see him go but also excited to see what the next one brings.”

Link, who once had the door to her home painted to look like the TARDIS, thinks a key reason that “Doctor Who's” time tourist resonates with its geeky fans is that he's a thinking person's hero.

“I love the idea that you can have an intelligent guy at the head of a show and be pretty much like a superhero,” she says. “He's not wielding a gun and fighting all the time. There's very little blood and gore. He gets by with his wits, which makes it a show for all ages.”

Link also admires the platonic relationships the Doctors generally have had with their various traveling “companions,” who are, more often than not, comely young women.

“It's nice to see a male-female friendship without the constant will they/won't they questions,” she says. “That's very rare on television.”

On top of all that, Elec Thureockes, a fan from Ben Lomond, just loves “Doctor Who” because it doesn't take itself too seriously.

“It's much more of a fun, happy-go-lucky type of show,” he says.

As with most sci-fi/fantasy fans, Whovians are a passionate bunch. Thureockes asserts that he and his friends can dissect and debate the show, and the efforts of head writer Steven Moffat, for three hours straight “without even having an episode on.” And Patterson points out that devotees will drive from all over the Bay Area, through rush-hour traffic, to attend their club's monthly meetings at a San Jose IHOP.

And they're gaining more company. For ages, “Doctor Who,” while a sensation in the United Kingdom, mostly operated under the radar on these shores. But in recent years, the show's U.S. profile has grown, thanks in large part to promotional efforts by BBC America, which secured the U.S. rights in 2009. Two years later, “Doctor Who” was the most downloaded series on iTunes.

So now it's cool to be a Whovian.

“I think for a long time in this country, the image people had of a 'Doctor Who' fan was a sad, 30-year-old guy watching the show in his parents' basement,” Patterson says. “That's not the case anymore.”

And that brings us back to the clamor surrounding this weekend's anniversary special that pairs the current Doctor, Smith, with his cheeky predecessor, played by David Tennant. Wilson promises it's going to be an “epic event full of surprises” that celebrates the show's history, but also takes “a big step forward.”

“It's as much about the future as it is the past,” says the producer, who gets tight-lipped when asked if there will be a juicy cliffhanger.

“If I told you about that,” he replies, “Steven Moffat would hunt me down and kill me.”

Where there's 'who'

There's more than one way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the iconic sci-fi series “Doctor Who.”

ON THE TV SCREEN

FRIDAY

“Doctor Who Explained”: A new special that explores the mysteries behind the two-hearted alien known as the Time Lord. Included: Interviews with cast members over the years. (8 p.m., BBC America).

“An Adventure in Space and Time”: A made-for-TV film about the early days of “Doctor Who,” and how the show came to be, starring David Bradley as William Hartnell, who played the first Doctor. (9 p.m., BBC America).

SATURDAY

“Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor”: The show's 50th anniversary special, starring current Doctor Matt Smith and his predecessor David Tennant, along with Jenna Coleman, Billie Piper and John Hurt. (Simulcast at 11:50 a.m., BBC America; Re-airs at 7 p.m.)

AT THE MOVIES

SATURDAY

“Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor”: The anniversary special will be simulcast in 3D at theaters in 11 U.S. cities, including San Francisco (Century San Francisco Centre 9).

MONDAY

“Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor”: The anniversary special will be screened in 3D at more than 300 theaters across the U.S., including some throughout the Bay Area. For information on times and tickets, go to fathomevents.com/.

The doctor is in

A look at the various actors who have played the Time Lord over the past five decades.

William Hartnell (1963-66): The first and oldest Doctor — debuting at 55 — started off as haughty and cantankerous but mellowed later in his tenure. Had he failed to make his mark, we wouldn't be here today talking about a 50th anniversary.

Patrick Throughton (1966-69): His eccentric take on the Doctor defined the role for future actors. Throughton introduced the idea of playing him as an absent-minded bumbler — the better to lure rivals into underestimating him. He died of a heart attack in 1987 while attending a “Doctor Who” convention in Georgia.

Jon Pertwee (1970-74): With an affinity for martial arts, Pertwee was the first to bring an action hero's panache to the role. Much of that action was here on Earth, because the production budget tightened, and alien worlds were too expensive to depict.

Tom Baker (1974-81): For many, Baker was the definitive Doctor of the classic era, putting an indelible stamp on the role with his beguiling eccentricity, toothy grin and iconic scarf-and-floppy hat combo. At seven years, his tenure as Time Lord was the longest.

Peter Davison (1981-84): With a kind and compassionate demeanor, he was the first Doctor to express an abhorrence for violence. Still, many fans considered him too young, handsome and dashing — and just not weird enough — to play the Doctor.

Colin Baker (1984-86): Not a fan favorite, Baker (no relation to Tom) brought a darker and more cynical edge to the Doctor. Many longtime Whovians believe he presided over some of the worst episodes in series history.

Sylvester McCoy (1987-89): Unfairly or not, some fans blame McCoy for killing “Doctor Who,” because the show went on hiatus after his bumpy three-year run. The truth is the series had already been in a creative and ratings decline.

Paul McGann (1996): Blink and you missed him. McGann played the Doctor — and barely had one hour of screen time — in a 1996 TV movie. The film was a series pilot that ran on Fox but didn't get picked up because it was crushed in the ratings.

Christopher Eccleston (2005): He helped bring “Doctor Who” out of hibernation and into the 21st century with a take that he called less eccentric and “foppish.” But it has been said that Eccleston was never comfortable in the role. He departed after just one season and for the most part, has not participated in “Who”-related events.

David Tennant (2005-10): Sweet and cheeky, yet tough, Tennant's approach to the Doctor is credited with raising the profile of the show to new, global heights. He is typically considered the most beloved of Doctors, especially among younger Whovians, and often comes in ahead of, or just behind, Tom Baker in fan magazine and website rankings.

Matt Smith (2010-13): At 27, Smith was the youngest actor to debut as the Doctor, and many fans initially believed his age would be a liability. But he won the geeks over with his charisma, enthusiasm and humor. Along the way, he made bow ties really “cool.”

Peter Capaldi (2014-?): Is “Doctor Who” about to undergo a dramatic change in tone? At 55, Capaldi is 24 years older than the man he's about to replace. The Scottish actor has a number of film and TV roles on his resume, including the popular British comedy “The Thick of It.”

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